Spectacular Sunset In Aberdeen

The exquisite colours of a Karoo sunset must surely astonish the eye with the panoramic display of colour. Cloud cover as seen in the photograph made the blaze of the setting sun even more spectacular, but not even great photography is able to reproduce the enormity of this wondrous sky. This sunset was viewed from the golf course in Aberdeen on Monday 14th December.

Article By: Joan Tinker

Aberdeen Christmas Lights December 2009

Although the streets of Aberdeen are quiet in the early evening with little or no traffic, the Christmas lights switched on recently by Mayor Jafta, shine and twinkle brightly in the main business area. Sparkling lights flash in all the windows of the local shops and cafés as Christmas is about to be celebrated here in Aberdeen in the Karoo. Quite a few houses in and around the town are decorated with different coloured lights, featuring flashing outlines of reindeer, Father Christmas, bells and Christmas trees.

A house beautifully decorated with a wonderful assortment of lights in all shapes, sizes and colours, and which looked festive enough to put a real Christmas feeling into the heart, was that belonging to Mr Hannes Eyssen of Jackson Street, in Aberdeen.

Article By: Joan Tinker

Have You Seen This Cactus On A Farm Or Elsewhere In Aberdeen & Surrounding Areas?

Cylindropuntia tunicate or Thistle Cholla or ‘Suigdoring’ is a potentially invasive cactus, the growth of which is expanding rapidly in areas of the Karoo. This cactus is a serious threat to the sheep and Angora goat industry, to the people who live in this area, to the wildlife as well as the domestic animals.
This plant is a green low-growing densely branched shrub with cylindrical sharp spiny segments. The spines are white and sharp and covered with a papery sheath, and the flowers are yellow green in colour.
The immediate danger of this plant, a member of the Cactaceae family is its ability to take over the grazing area, and to cripple animals both domestic and wild.
The plant has an amazing ability to spread itself by breaking off into small pieces as animals or people knock against it and re-rooting itself where ever it falls. The spines or ‘thorns’ then adhere to the animals or to people’s clothing in an almost ‘sucking’ attachment, hence the name ‘suigdoring’, the spines are extremely painful and difficult to remove.
The ‘suigdoring’ is not easily destroyed. The plant has to be physically removed out of the ground and burnt. In Australia environmentalists are scientifically experimenting with eco-friendly ways of removing this plant.

In Aberdeen it is frightening to see how the ‘suigdoring’ is taking over vast areas. Behind the Aberdeen cemetery there is virtually a low growing forest of this plant, growing down onto the river bank. In the town area, it is in the school grounds, behind the new Agri Building, and it is now taking over the Aberdeen golf course.
The Aberdeen Municipality should regard the removal of this plant as an urgent priority.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is taking this problem seriously, and the Regional co-coordinator for ‘Early Detection Programme’ Barbara Mashope, has requested concerned residents and farm owners to contact her at 021-799-8678 or email: B.Mashope@sanbi.org.za should they be aware of any outbreak of this plant.

Article By: Joan Tinker

State Of RDP Housing In Aberdeen & Another 400 Houses To Be Built

Between 1997 to1998 the building of approximately 1,200 houses was commenced in Lotusville and Thembalisizwe. Tenders were put out by the Municipality for suppliers of necessary building materials, cartage and for building contractors. Before building began a ‘spec house’ was built to ascertain the exact specifications and cost of each house. Bricks, cement, sand, door frames, window frames etc were measured in quantity and standard, as was the cost of cartage and the viability of all building materials in Aberdeen. Finance was made payable from Bisho.
The Municipality appointed 9 building contractors each with their own team. Each individual contractor was given an allocation of stands. Contractors for cartage and for the supply of building materials were appointed locally.
The arrangement with regard to the delivery of building materials was on demand for each individual house.
Problems began when various contractors could not complete houses due to the disappearance of the supplied materials. Then a strike was called as the contractors were not employing local workers, and so the building of all houses ceased for one year.
The project was then resumed, but due to inflation, the cost of cartage, building materials etc was higher than the cost of the product originally agreed upon, but the financial department of Bisho refused to pay according to the rate of inflation, so the suppliers were forced to supply goods at less that the actual cost of the materials and cartage.
Today in 2009 the state of many houses in Lotusville and Thembalisizwe is scandalous. Due to inferior work, roofs are being held in place by concrete bricks, doors are falling out of doorways, bricks are becoming displaced and large gaps can be seen between the roof and the wall.
It is obvious that no proper inspection was ever done during or after the erection of these houses, or if it was, it would be in the public interest to know who did the inspection.
On Monday 16th November in Johannesburg, Mr Tokio Sexwale made a statement which was recorded on Financial.24 that the housing situation was a national scandal. He said it would cost R1.3 million rand to reconstruct the badly built houses, when this finance should have been used to build new houses.
Mr Sexwale, who was on a visit to Alphendale near East London where 339 badly constructed houses have to be rebuilt, had this to say. ”Ons wil weet wie hierdie huise gebou het. Ons moet ernstige vrae vra en mense aan die pen laat ry. Ons gaan die problem regstel, maar ons gaan ook die mense wat die probleem veroorsaak het, in die hande kry”, Mnr. Sexwale het swak dienslewering op korrupsie by konstruksie-maatskappye en regeringsamptenare geblameer”.
Mr Sexwale should be made aware of the state of the housing in both Lotusville and Thembalisizwe, and he should call the people responsible to account for the lack of building expertise and bad management.
On 28th November a large concrete brick, used in the construction of one of the RDP houses fell out of the wall above the doorway on to Susan Witbooi’s foot. Suzan’s foot was x-rayed and she was treated for broken bones in her foot at the local hospital. Her foot is now encased in a plaster cast, and she will be unable to work for 6 weeks. Had this concrete brick fallen on the head of her 9 year old son, the consequences could have been tragic.

Susan a single parent has two small children. She depends on the salaries she receives from her two different employers to sustain herself and her family. One of her employers has said that she will continue to make payment to Susan whilst she is unable to work. It is hoped that her other employer follows suit.

When contacted, the Aberdeen Municipality, said the onus is on the owner of the house to fix the structure. Number 3685 in Thembalisizwe where Susan Witbooi has lived for 5 years is a rented house.
Now 400 new houses are to be built, while the original houses are falling apart. There is little sense in this, and it might take a visit from the Minister of Housing to realize the fact. It is hoped that some form of good management will carefully monitor who the building contractors are that the Aberdeen Municipality appoints, where the building materials are to be stored once delivered and that all information will be readily available to the press and to interested parties. Susan Witbooi is seen photographed in her house with the concrete brick which fell onto her foot.

Article By: Joan Tinker